A hammerhead shark that its creator says will slowly spin in the wind is among three sculpture options currently being considered for placement in Encinitas city parks.

On Monday at 5 p.m., the Encinitas Commission for the Arts will meet at City Hall, 505 S. Vulcan Ave., to debate the proposals and issue its recommendations. The City Council is scheduled to make the final ruling at its Nov. 20 session, an agenda for the arts commission meeting notes.

There are three pieces under consideration and two proposed display sites. One site’s in Leucadia Oaks Park close to the corner of Sanford Street and North Vulcan Avenue. It’s near the park’s skatepark. The other site is in Sun Vista Park, close to the southwest corner of Rancho Santa Fe Road and Avenida la Posta. That’s a high-visibility location — thousands of San Diego commuters motor by daily, and hundreds of people walk by on their way to Olivenhain Elementary and Diegueno Middle schools.

“Neptune Jr.”, “Wingman” and “Hermes” are three pieces under consideration for Encinitas parks. (City of Encinitas)

The three art options are:

“Neptune Jr.” — a 250-pound sculpture of a child riding a “realistic-looking” hammerhead shark. Proposed to go at the top of a pole, the piece will be mounted in such fashion that it can “slowly rotate in the wind, making it ever-changing in direction,” its creator wrote on a city public art submission form. “Wingman” — a 225-pound, abstract art piece. The multi-colored sculpture is made of fabricated, welded steel, which is then coated with acrylic paint. People who come close to it will see that each color is “actually composed of multiple colors-on-top-of-other colors,” the artist wrote on an art submission form. “Hermes” — a 160-pound, granite, stone and cement statue of a Greek god. It stands 6 feet, 3 inches tall, and includes a stone head that “was sourced locally in Encinitas,” its artist wrote.

“Neptune Jr.” and “Wingman” are the two options for the sculpture display pedestal at Sun Vista Park, while the pedestal spot at Leucadia Oaks could receive either “Neptune Jr.” or “Hermes,” the staff report notes.

Community debate about the proposed sites and the art itself has already begun. In an online survey the city conducted in early October, multiple people raised concerns about putting the “Neptune Jr.” sculpture at Sun Vista Park, saying a moving sculpture would distract motorists at a busy intersection.

Several people also wrote that they thought the sea-themed sculpture would be better at Leucadia Oaks Park because that park is closer to the ocean than Sun Vista. However, the artist of the “Wingman” piece expressed a preference for Leucadia Oaks over Sun Vista, writing that the piece would look best there “because it would add a vertical element to an area that is basically horizontal in nature.”

More than 400 people responded to the city’s survey, and their opinions about the sculpture pieces ranged widely.

The abstract, vertical “Wingman” piece received high marks when suggested for placement at the Sun Vista site, receiving a 4.5 survey rating out of 5, the city reported. One person wrote that it was “super fun, colorful, interesting,” but not everyone felt that way. One person wrote, “this thing is hideous” and another said a 4-year-old could have created something similar with Lego blocks.

The shark-riding, kid sculpture, which collected a 4.2 rating for the Leucadia Oaks site, also produced intense reactions. One person called it “too creepy,” another called it “upsetting and religiously offensive,” but a third person said it was “quirky, fun, whimsical” and a fourth raved, “This is so very cool, imaginative, thought-provoking, conversation-starting, interesting, whimsical, and truly unique.”

The “Hermes” stone sculpture, which received a 1.8 rating for the Leucadia Oaks site, got some praise for its “raw and natural look,” but faced criticism both from people confused as to what it was supposed to be and from those worried that it looked “authoritarian and frightening.”

The two pieces that are ultimately picked for the parks will be on public display for a two- to three-year loan period, the arts commission report states. The cost to the city will be $6,000 — $4,000 for artists’ stipends and $2,000 for installation work, the report continues.

These aren’t the only public art items currently under review in Encinitas. The city recently announced that Encinitas artist Jay Bell is offering to donate a sunset mural on a west side wall of the new Pacific View Arts Center.